Welcome to Exploration News. If you’re not already on the list, please subscribe to the newsletter below.
On to the companies issuing news last week, 88 Energy (88E) announced an Alaskan portfolio update. The immediate focus is on Project Phoenix, in particular the upcoming flow testing of Hickory-1 in early Q1 2024. The rig is contracted and long lead orders are underway. As highlighted by 88E, Pantheon Resources (PANR) has declared a material, independently certified contingent resource for the Lower Basin Floor Fan reservoir on its neighbouring acreage and announced on 27 September the re-entry of its Alkaid-2 well with the objectives of gathering the best possible reservoir fluid samples for pressure-volume temperature analysis, determining the initial reservoir pressure and testing improvements in the frac design. The objective is not to target maximum flow rates, indeed PANR will deliberately restrict the flow rates to minimise gas production into the well bore and allow optimum data collection, thus negative news from Pantheon is unlikely. Few understand the geological differences between the two companies’ land tracts and, other than PANR enthusiasts, fewer are going to explain it, so although having to wait a few months for its own flow test, 88 Energy is likely to benefit significantly from any positive sounding news from Pantheon in the meantime. Current market capitalisation of 88E is £72 million and of PANR £315 million.
Eco (Atlantic) Oil & Gas (ECO) announced board changes. Alice Carroll, the company's head of corporate sustainability, joins the board as an executive director; Selma Usiku, an exploration geologist with a history of working in South Africa and Namibia, joins the board as a non-executive director. Eco recently acquired from Tullow an additional 60% interest in the Orinduik block, Guyana, and now has a 75% interest, becoming operator. The company says it intends to drive the exploration process and focus on its strategy to attract new partners to join the licence and proactively engage in drilling. The other current project is Block 3B/4B, offshore South Africa in which Eco now has a 20% stake. A new competent persons report released by the operator earlier this year confirmed that the block contains estimated P50 prospective resources of approximately four billion barrels of oil equivalent and an application has been made to drill one well and one contingent well in the north of the block. Like Orinduik above, funding for the drilling again relies on a farm-out. Current market capitalisation is £44 million.
Canadian Overseas Petroleum (COPL) announced the receipt of US$4 million from the issue of shares at 2.6p to conclude the financing announced earlier this month, the collective impact of which is to fully fund the business through Q1 2024 and reduce 2023 and 2024 liabilities by in excess of US$13.5 million. The company says that if it can bring production back above 2,000 barrels of oil per day on average for 2024 that will allow it to fully fund COPL America for the entire year. COPL operates the Cole Creek Unit, Barron Flats Shannon (Miscible) Unit and holds Barron Flats Federal (Deep) in addition to non-unitized lands, all in Wyoming, USA. Current market capitalisation is £19 million.
UK Oil & Gas (UKOG) announced that following the temporary suspension of Pinarova-1 testing operations, larger and more powerful 7 inch perforating guns, capable of fully penetrating Pinarova-1's 9.625 inch casing and cement (and, crucially, available for import into Turkey), have now finally been sourced. Downhole pressure gauge data showed that the original 4.5 inch perforating guns, the only size guns available in-country, did not establish direct contact with the formation. Therefore, tests to date did not assess the potential of the zones associated with the 12 hours of strong crude oil odour and oil at surface. New geochemical analyses now demonstrates that both the Pinarova mud-pit oil sample and oil samples from the nearby shallow seismic shot-hole seep are a geochemical close match and most likely originate from the same source rock, located beneath the general area of the shallow Pinarova structure. Should further testing be positive, consideration is being given to the acquisition of a small 3D seismic programme to identify a possible deeper oil pool, seepage from which being the most likely primary source of both the shot-hole seep and the Pinarova oils. Pinarova-1, located 6 km. north of the Basur-1 oil discovery, was designed to test a working hypothesis, supported by well and seismic data, that the active light oil seep found last summer in a seismic shot hole above the Pinarova structure, is directly fed by and connected to an underlying light oil accumulation. UKOG holds a 50% non-operated interest in Pinarova-1 and the surrounding 305 sq. km. Resan licence, which also includes the as yet undeveloped Basur-1 light oil discovery. Market capitalisation is £7 million.
Predator Oil & Gas (PRD) announced the issue of six million share options exercisable at 12.5p. Three million go to director, Alistair Jury and three million go to Carl Kindinger, 50% vesting upon the release of a RNS in respect of the rigless testing results for Guercif and 50% upon the release of a RNS in respect of the completion of the acquisition of TRex Holdings Trinidad and the Cory Moruga project. There are quite a number of options and warrants now in issue and if all were to become exercisable and then exercised in accordance with their terms, gross proceeds received by Predator would be nearly £6 million. Announcement of the MOU-3 flow test should be imminent. The previous announcement stated it was forecast to begin on or before 16 October (tomorrow). Market capitalisation of PRD is £66 million.
Upland Resources (UPL) announced it has now signed a letter of intent for the provision of well planning and drilling services in 2024 with NRG Group. In addition, the company says it is now in the final stages of rig identification for Block SK334, onshore Sarawak. According to Upland, preliminary estimates suggest that the block contains similar resources to those found in the neighbouring billion-barrel Seria field. Drilling remains conditional on a farm-out. On the PR side, Bolhassan Di, Chairman and CEO, says that Upland looks forward to increased market engagement as it scales up operations. Market capitalisation is £36 million.
Now, on to the two companies in which I’m investing.